We're a group of YA authors published by small presses, and we're getting the word out about our books, talking about writing, the world of kid lit, and anything else that pops into our pretty heads.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Magic Ponies

When I was young, I went through the phase of reading horse stories and watching horse movies. Black Beauty, The Black Stallion, Misty, Thunderhead, Son of Flicka, Appaloosa... That was why I have the Fleogende, the talking horses in my fantasy series (The Crystal Throne, Talking to Trees, and several short stories in Agents & Adepts).

But perhaps I'm not "through" the phase as much as I had thought, as I have now discovered the overwhelming addictiveness of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. The show is currently being shown on the Hub cable channel, although many of the episodes are also available on YouTube. (Hint to Hub, please release DVDs of the season so I can addict more friends).

Lauren Faust, the creator of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, also worked on The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends. Friendship Is Magic follows the adventures of Twilight Sparkle, a scholarly magic-using unicorn. Assigned by her mentor, Princess Celestia, to Ponyville, Twilight meets a variety of fillies: Applejack, an apple farmer pony; Rarity, a clothing designer unicorn; Fluttershy, a very shy pegasus who talks to animals; Rainbow Dash, a racing pegasus (who not only has a rainbow colored mane and tail but leaves a trail of rainbows behind her when she flies fast); and Pinky Pie, a baker's apprentice pony who loves to throw parties. Twilight also has an assistant, Spike, a baby dragon who is able to send Twilight's reports to Celestia via his flame breath. As the season goes on, we also meet the little sisters of some of the ponies (who are even cuter than their big sisters, if that is even possible).

It's a fascinating world where not only the buildings and furniture are constructed for pony use but also the language: "everypony" rather than "everyone" and "Fillies and gentlecolts". Attention is even paid to the sound effects, such as Fluttershy's nervous squeaks or the hoof clomping when the ponies stamp to show approval. The writing is clever and fun for both kids and adults and the artwork is amazing. Those ponies are cute. The storylines are about friendship, but there are also ones about workaholics, jealousy and learning to trust.

There's another review of the series at A.V. Club. There is already a growing fandom of this show, with fan videos and fan fiction.

And fans are analyzing the physics of the show, something I'm used to for Star Trek or Doctor Who fans, but not those of a cartoon show.

So if you like horses, or unicorns (with or without glitter) or just good cartoons, you might want to check out My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. But beware - this show is very addictive.